


Why you?

by BlueXIII



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura Lives, Background Relationships, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Mainly Allura/Lance, Red String of Fate, Sort of fix- it, Soulmates, flirty bickering, mild langst, the string knows, the string knows all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27020080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueXIII/pseuds/BlueXIII
Summary: A little RSoF au I have been sitting on for a while, this will be allurance flavored, so if you don't like that, don't read. How the string works will be explained to the best of my ability as the story goes on (most of it can be gathered from the first chapter.) I plan for this to be about 5-7 chapters long, at various points in Lance's relationship with Allura, somewhat canon compliant. Allura will survive, don't worry. Mostly Lance POV
Relationships: Allura & Lotor (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 11
Kudos: 16





	1. Limp string

Lance gazed sadly at the string that hung limply from his finger. With the exception of his closest friends, it seemed like everyone else’s strings had connected to their soulmate’s. The string was supposed to connect to your soulmate, and even point towards them if you were close enough. Lance had travelled around the world for his garrison training and had not even felt a wiggle from his “end” of the string. He _had_ an end, so, in theory, he should have a soulmate, but all things considered, he thought there must have been a fluke in whatever system gave him the string.

“Buddy?” a voice yanked Lance out of his self- indulgent pity- party. “You REALLY need to stop worrying about that, you know.” Hunk’s gaze was filled with sympathy but held a twinge of annoyance.

“Worry about what?” Lance asked nonchalantly.

“You know exactly what” Hank responded, annoyance increasing. “You have a soulmate, end of story, there is no record of anyone with a string not having a soulmate.” He held up his left hand. “Look, mine isn’t connected, I have been everywhere you have, not even a twitch, just like you. So quit sulking and get up, we have a test today, and I do _not_ want to fail” Hunk said firmly.

“Alright, alright” Lance replied sheepishly, getting out of bed. He changed into his garrison uniform and went to get some breakfast. Hunk and Pidge were waiting. Unlike Hunk and himself, Pidge didn’t have a string on her finger. She seemed content with the fact there wasn’t anyone specifically for her. She claimed that it was a bunch of superstitious nonsense anyway. Hunk and Lance got the last laugh, as for the next week, she tripped over every string she would have normally passed through.

“Has loverboy stopped moping around?” Pidge teased.

“Ha, ha, easy for you to say,” Lance shot back

“So… what’s the plan for today?” Hunk interjected. He had seen things get less friendly before and didn’t want it to happen again.

“Right,” Lance breathed “focus.”

Lance overviewed the plan for the final exam of the semester. Kerberos Rescue it was called. The mysterious disappearance of the crew and blatant coverup intrigued the entire garrison. Pidge was especially vocal about it at every opportunity, Lance couldn’t blame her, she had half her family on that ill- fated mission. The only person who came close to her… _enthusiasm_ about it was Keith, some jerkwad who got him demoted to cargo pilot. Despite this, Lance did feel a twinge of sympathy for him. Keith’s soulmate was aboard the Kerberos mission as well. He didn’t take the garrison’s official statement well, saying he would go forward with his evidence that, at the very least, Shiro was still alive. He was kicked from the program and isolated on the garrison’s outskirts. Few were allowed to get close enough to make out the vibrant string that trailed off into space (literally).

  * \- -



Hunk, Lance, and Pidge were relaxing on the roof of the barracks. Iverson had just given them a verbal thrashing, so they decided to get some fresh air. Pidge was eagerly doing something on her computer while Hunk laid back and looked at the stars. Lance was staring at his string again, waving it back and forth. He closed his fist around it and decided to see what Pidge was doing.

“So, uh, how are things in Nerdville?” he asked, plopping down next to her.

Used to his remarks by now, Pidge just rolled her eyes and pointed the screen at him. It was a custom radio receiver she made, far more advanced than anything the garrison would allow them to have. Lance faked snoring. “You know this is nonsense to me, right? What is all this?”

“Most of it is just static and background interference, but I’ve deciphered strange signals over the past few days.”

Hunk perked up at this. “You’ve been holding back on us?” He looked a little hurt.

“I wanted to be sure this wasn’t just a fluke, or something from Earth.” She responded, a little excited.

“Wait this is an extraterrestrial signal?” Lance asked.

“I didn’t think you knew words that long” Hunk snickered.

“It’s repeating one word, Voltron,” said Pidge.

She opened her mouth to say something when an explosion rocked the sky. They looked up to see something falling towards the ground. “A meteor?” asked Hunk

“I don’t think so.” Pidge said, her voice wavering.

  * \- -



Less than an hour later the Garrison had set up a temporary base around the.. whatever it was. Through their binoculars, the trio could tell it was _not_ just a meteor. They had decided to investigate closer, now they just needed a distraction.

“Okay, so I will throw rocks over there…” Hunk was relaying his idea when a commotion rippled through the camp. Someone was rapidly moving across the ground, shrieking as they were dragged towards it.

“It’s Keith, I would know that mullet anywhere.” Lance said.

“Wait, if its Keith then-“ Hunk began

“Shiro” Lance and Pidge said in unison.

Keith burst through the tent set up around the pod and stopped with his head resting against the bottom of the operation table. His left hand pulled upwards until it rested against another, larger, warmer hand. He looked up, dazed. “Hey guys.” He said cheerfully to the startled scientists. “Is Shiro okay?” after a brief explanation, they seemed to relax and even invited him to stay, like he had a choice. Even if they let him leave, he doubt the string would give him any slack right now. He was thinking about how to break out when someone burst through the flap, brandishing a makeshift club. Keith recognized him as an engineer, Hector, or something. He was followed by tow others, Lance he knew, but he couldn’t place the girl. They quickly overpowered the scientists and helped Keith carry Shiro out. “Why are you helping me?” Keith asked. “Later,” Pidge grunted under the weight of Shiro. They piled into a transport buggy and sped off into the night.

\- - -

After a short drive, they came to a shack covered in satellite dishes and an ominous pole extending some 30 feet into the air. “Scramblers” Keith explained when he caught Pidge gawking at it.

They laid Shiro onto Keith’s bed (Lance couldn’t help but snicker at this, earning a jab to the ribs from Pidge.) They all collapsed onto an adjacent couch, exhausted. During the time they waited for Shiro to wake up, Pidge explained everything to Keith, which he takes surprisingly well. Soon enough, Shiro wakes up, after a tearful embrace from Keith, and an explanation of everything he has missed, why he’s in Keith’s bed, etc. Keith reveals a map surrounded by charts and diagrams. Pidge immediately recognizes it as consistent with whatever her Voltron thing is.

Lance stared up at the massive lion before them, it wasn’t to hard to track down, and even easier to get to. For an alien superweapon, Voltron was a little _too_ easy to find for Lance’s liking. “Lance, relax, I’ve been here a thousand times.” Keith assures him. He still seems a little unfocused though, opting to stay arm linked with Shiro, despite his string relaxing and stretching as needed. Not that Shiro minded. The lion awoke as they got closer, bending over, and opening its jaw. Lance felt something at the back of his mind and walked into it. The others followed, piling into what must be the cockpit. Lance sat down at the controls and gripped them. Immediately the lion took off, bursting through the cave wall and bounding off into space. The others were freaking out at this, telling him to stop. “I can’t, see?” he took his hands off the joysticks to prove his point. A hole appeared in front of them, an unfamiliar planet on the other side. “Are we going through?” Hunk asked nervously.

Lance felt something tug at his string finger. It was pointing at the planet. All rational thought left his brain. “Yes we are.” He said firmly, and gunned the- engine? Lion? Whatever.


	2. Connected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance + Allura's strings connect, it isn't as magical as Lance thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not happy with this chapter, (particularly the start) After several changes and rewrites, I don't think it's going to get much better. I just really wanted to get Allura + Lance's initial meeting and reaction to the fated string merge.

The lion landed in front of a large castle, after depositing the five of them on the ground, it roared, and the castle opened. Seeing no other option. They decided to enter. .Once inside, Lance’s string pointed towards a doorway at the center of a large staircase. “This way.”

“What makes you say that?” Keith asked

“Just a feeling.” Lance replied, trying to hide the string.

It dodged and wove around his attempts to grab it. The others seemed too focused on taking the castle in to notice. Eventually, they came to a large room. As they entered, two pods rose from the floor. The string then went limp. Lance shook his hand, trying to get it to move. Nothing. Sighing in defeat he decided to take a closer look at the pods. The first one had a ginger man- no he had pointed ears; this was an alien. Before this could fully register, his mind went blank when he looked in the second pod. Inside was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The pod shot open when he leaned forward for a closer look. Her eyes fluttered open. They were a dazzling shade of blue that contrasted beautify with the pink tattoos she had on her cheeks. “Father!” she cried out before collapsing onto Lance. “Who are you, where am I?” she asked sleepily. Lance put on the coolest expression he could, smirking at her. “The name’s Lance, and you’re right here in my arms.” He flirt with almost any girl with a free string he could, hoping the strings would take pity and connect. They never did. “Your ears,” she mused, “They’re hideous.”

He was about to make a retort when her expression hardened. With surprising force, she twisted Lance’s arm around, “Why are you here?” she asked forcefully. “A giant blue lion took use here that’s all we know.” Lance replied quickly. She dropped him but was then yanked downwards by her string hand. She landed on Lance’s back, prompting a grunt from him. She pushed herself up and noticed that his hand followed, Lance’s string connected to her own. he looked over and saw it too. Looking up at her he saw her expression change from confusion to sheer mortification.

“Coran!” she shrieked.

“Yes, Princess?” a voice cried out. 

The other pod had opened, and the ginger individual was busy attacking Shiro.

“I need something sharp.” She said, stalking towards him, dragging Lance behind her. “What for?” he asked. He looked down and saw that her string had connected to Lance’s.

“Err, about that…”

Knife, sword, scissors, I don’t care.” her voice was seething with irritation. Lance couldn’t help but feel hurt, he had met his soulmate, and she immediately wanted nothing to do with him. Coran put a hand on her shoulder. “Allura, (dammit even her name was pretty) the string can’t be cut.” He said gently. To prove his point, he drew a dagger from his belt and hacked at the string. The dagger puffed away into dust when the string pulled tight. Allura looked down at Lance, his lips trying to hide a smile.

She groaned and walked off, the string now extending to the other side of the room before pulling tight. “SERIOUSLY?” she growled in frustration and plopped down into a chair in a huff. Coran looked at him, smiling in a way that said, “we’ll have a **nice, friendly** chat later” and he walked off to join the princess. Lance was left sitting there, utterly confused as to what to make of the situation.

\- - -

Lance collapsed into his bunk. It had been an exhausting day, but at least they had all the lions now. Thankfully, the string realized it needed to extend a little more that 20 feet for the day’s activity. Lance was trying to get comfortable when he felt a tug at his hand. The string was responsible. Lance preferred to sleep facing away from the wall, so he tried again. It didn’t budge. He tried one last time, giving it a hard yank, this finally allowed him to finally turn over.

Allura was not having the best day to say the least. First, it turns out she has been asleep for 10,000 years, then she winds up connected to an imbecile who was allegedly her soulmate. (surely that was a mistake.) To make matters worse, the supposed paladins of Voltron could barely work as a team to save their lives. The last straw was This. Constant. Tugging at her finger. She was trying to sleep only to be rudely awoken by gentle tugs at first, then one sharp yank that pulled any hope of falling asleep away. That did it. She gripped the string hard, pulling all slack in and jerked it backwards. She heard the solid **thunk** from the other end of the hall. “Ha” she chanted victoriously. Her victory was short lived as when she released the string to turn back over, it was taut. She decided to give up there, too tired to do much else. Thankfully, it seemed like Lance had the same thought, and without the disturbance, sleep eventually found her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick clarification. The rest of this fic will more or less be a collection of one shots. There is a relatively coherent story here, but they can be taken independently. It is just a few parts of the show rewritten as if Lance + Allura had a red string of fate tying them together.


	3. Damsel (not so) in Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura has been captured by the galra, Lance and the other paladins go to rescue her.

The escape pod opened, and Shiro stumbled out, Keith jumped into his arms, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“You’re ok” he said, relieved. Shiro's expression told another story.

“Wait, where’s Allura?” Lance asked, noticing her absence.

“She was captured.” Shiro replied sadly.

“Then let’s get her.” Lance said quickly, trying to remain calm.

“No, we have the intel we needed, she specifically said the mission is more important.”

“You can’t be serious!” Coran shouted, taking a threatening step towards Shiro.

“I’m with Shiro on this one,” Keith cut in, “

“You wouldn’t be saying that if it was Shiro in there!” Lance cried, having lost all composure.

“You’re right, he is a paladin of Voltron, we need him”

“We need Allura too.” Hunk chimed in. “Who else can open wormholes?”

“There is enough of her residual energy for two more jumps, we can jump away, regroup and form a plan, then jump back and get her” Pidge stated.

“She’ll be ok, Lance.” Shio said gently, “She can take care of herself.” Lance finally conceded. He looked down at his string trailing off until it met the wall. He gave it a gentle tug, just to let Allura know she wasn’t alone. She must be so scared right now. Lance thought to himself

“Why don’t you come over here so I can smack that grin off your face!” Allura barked from her cell. The guard seemed to enjoy taunting her from afar but didn’t want to get close after she decked the one who brought her food. After Shiro departed, the galra quickly broke through the door, and captured her. She was now on her way to meet Zarkon himself. Seeing the guard’s hesitance, she sat down on the cold bunk in the cell. She had grown too accustomed to the bed she used on the castle to even comfortably sit on this one. She felt a gentle pull on her hand. It was the string, “Not now, Lance,” she thought in exasperation but inexplicably felt a wave of warmth spread over her cheeks. “No.,” she told herself, “Focus.” Allura got into a position where she could monitor the Guards and began forming an escape plan.

  * \- -



The castle emerged from its escape wormhole. Onboard, the other paladins decided to confine Lance to his quarters after he attempted to take Blue and get Allura himself. As powerful as the lions were, infiltrating a battlecruiser solo was a suicide mission. And outright attacking from the outside could lead to Allura's death. He was laying on his bed, trying to get some rest when a knock came at the door. He didn’t answer. It came again. “What?” asked Lance.

“May I come in?” it was Coran.

“Fine.”

Coran entered the room, looking even more upset than Lance felt.

“Figured you would want to talk at some point.” Lance mused.

“Well, yes and no, I actually just dropped by to ask if Allura was still OK.”

Lance blinked at him, confused for a few seconds before realizing what he meant. He gave the string a tug. His arm was then yanked up then down against his bed.

“I see.” Coran stated, clearly amused by the response. “I take it she does that a lot?”

Lance chuckled. “Only when I bother her during something important.”

“Ah, then how does she respond when not in the middle of something?” Coran asked.

“More or less the same.” Lance said, “But most of the time I pull on it by accident.”

“Right, right,” Coran shuffled on his feet, “Well I shall be leaving,” he said turning towards the door.

“Wait,’ Lance called out.

“Yes?” Coran poked his head back in the door

“Does Allura hate me?” Lance asked

Coran sighed. “She never hated you, she was just confused. I mean, can you imagine waking up, finding out you are the last of your species, it has been 10000 years, and to top it all off, you find your soulmate? I imagine it was all a little overwhelming.”

“I guess you’re right.” Lance said with a smile “So… she likes me?”

“I’m not sure about that.” Coran replied. “You could always ask her though.”

“Ha, ha, as if.”

“Paladins,” Shiro’s voice cut over the intercom. “Get to your lions, we’re about to arrive at the last known location of the ship that captured Allura.”

“I’ll leave you to it then.” Said Coran.

Lance nodded and swiftly headed for Blue

  * \- -



Escaping was almost too easy. There was only one real guard outside her call at any given time, save for shift changes. All other security was the laughably predictable (one could say _robotic)_ behavior of the sentries. Lance would be proud of that joke, Allura thought. The guards had just changed shift. Allura took a breath, now or never. She knocked on the window of her cell.

“Hello?” she called out. The guard leaning against the hallway perked up.

“Would you mind bringing me something to eat?” she asked. Evidently the guard hadn’t been notified of her previous treatment of the food provider, because the guard called for a tray. The second the small door in the cell opened, Allura thrust her hand through, grabbing the guard and knocking him against it. He was out cold. She quickly took his key card and opened the door, dragging him inside. After putting on his armor and shapeshifting to look reasonably galra, she stepped out into the hall. Thankfully, she had been brought to the cell from the hangar, so she didn't get lost on her way. A lone guard lazily slumped against the control panel in the observation deck. Allura snuck up behind her and delivered a strong blow to her head. Allura opened the blast door covering the Hangar entrance, and disabled the sentries patrolling the deck below. She made her way to a fighter craft and got inside. The controls were easy enough to understand, and she piloted the craft out. Nothing happened, no alarms, no pursuers, no fire from the ship. Allura breathed a sigh of relief. Her string pulled tight and she pointed the fighter in the direction of the force. She tugged her side a few times, just to let Lance she was okay.

“Alright Lance, lead the way.” Shiro told him over the radio.

“Right.” Lance felt his string straighten out and pull. “This way.” He felt it pull tighter. Allura must be trying to signal me, he thought, and his face went a deep shade of crimson.

“Hold on, I’m picking up a faint galra signature” Pidge informed the paladins. “It’s in the direction we’re headed."

“It must be the ship Allura’s on,” Lance said excitedly

“No, it’s too small for that, just a light fighter.”

“If there is a fighter, a larger ship must be nearby,” Lance countered.

“There is one, but it exceeds the effective range of the fighter.”

“Probably just a fluke then, lets head towards the ship” Shiro commanded.

As they continued towards the ship, Lance’s string didn’t curve upwards towards its path. “Guys?” he spoke over the radio “Allura isn’t on the ship anymore.” He caught faint movement on his screen, a lone galra fighter was headed for him, dead on. “Allura” he breathed.

Allura saw the lions and was filled with relief. She looked down at her string affectionately. It had led her home. She opened a channel to them “Paladins?”

“Princess!” they exclaimed

She smiled “It’s good to see you all again.”

“You more” Lance said, pulling on his string.

Allura rolled her eyes and hoped she wasn’t blushing at this. Lance carefully approached and took the fighter into Blue’s mouth. The paladins then made their way back to the castle. Once inside, Allura jumped out of the fighter to greet the paladins. When she did so, she was dragged towards Lance, who was also pulled towards her. It stopped about a foot away. They shuffled awkwardly in front of each other. Unsure of what to do, Lance opened his arms for a hug, Allura stepped into them, wrapping her arms around his chest. He followed suit. The hug lasted only about ten seconds, but it was enough for Lance to notice Allura was warm, even in the galra armor. She had a faint floral scent about her. The string went slack, and they separated. Allura quickly turned away, but Lance could swear her face was completely pink. He brushed it off as just her facial tattoos. Allura hugged the other paladins anyway, so it wasn’t anything special. He thought to himself.


	4. Lotor Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor arrives, bringing an unusual proposal to Allura.

It took less than sixteen seconds for Lance to intensely dislike Lotor. He couldn’t quite place exactly _why,_ though. Maybe it was the fact he was their enemy and was now claiming he wanted an alliance. Maybe it was the way he looked at Allura when he first boarded the castle. Either way, Lance just knew he didn’t like Lotor, much less trust him. Thankfully, the rest of the team at least shared his mindset, as Lotor was immediately escorted to the brig. Sadly, it was not to last, after Lotor advised several successful engagements against the Galra, he was released. To make matters worse, he was now building a ship with Allura’s help, and their interactions made them seem less and less like "just colleagues." As much as Lance disliked Lotor, he had to admit Lotor didn’t appear to have ill intentions, in fact he was downright pleasant company. There was still something off about him, the way he talked, for example. It was a little _too_ humanitarian, too good to be true.

One particular evening was especially rough. Hunk, Pidge, and himself had gone to offer their assistance with the "Syncline" or whatever they were calling it. They were standing a little too close for Lance’s liking, but quickly separated when they heard them walk in. Allura and Lotor didn’t need any help though, so Hunk and Pidge left.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Lance asked hopefully.

They ignored him. He tugged on the string. Allura looked up and gave him a sympathetic smile.

“If we need help, I’ll be sure to ask ok?”

“Alright,” Lance replied, trying not to sound disappointed.

The rest of the evening didn’t help his mood, with Hunk and Pidge teasing him. Imitating Lotor and Allura making kissy faces at each other.

“Come on guys, it’s not like they are connected.” He said, holding up his string hand to prove his point.

“Doesn’t seem to be stopping her.” Pidge snickered. 

"Pidge." Hunk warned

Lance stormed off at her comment, leaving to clear his head.

  * \- -



Shortly after Lance had left, Lotor spoke to Allura.

“He is your soulmate?” Lotor asked, trying to sound casual.

“Apparently.” Allura replied, “Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering what you thought of the whole “soulmates” thing.”

“I don’t know to be perfectly honest, when I was younger, I fantasized about what my soulmate would be like. Now that I’ve met him…”

“You wish you hadn’t?” Lotor cut in.

“Certainly not, he’s so much more than the cocky womanizer he makes himself out to be.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve seen the _real_ Lance several times, he’s kind, selfless, charming, even.”

“I see,” Lotor looked a little disheartened.

“Are you jealous?” Allura teased.

“Oh, no,” Lotor held up his stringless hand, “What’s there to be jealous of? So do you approve of the string’s judgement?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do you think he is your soulmate?”

“I don’t know, I’m still a little confused about the whole thing.”

“If you could sever the string, would you?”

“What?”

“If there was a way to cut the string,..?”

Allura looked down and thought. Lance was so happy, she had spoken to Hunk and Pidge, they both told her Lance was a bit mopey before he met her. It would almost certainly break his heart if she were to cut him off. Then there was the idea of what would happen if it were to be cut,

“I see this is troubling you.”

“Hmm?”

Lotor was smiling, “You don’t have to answer, I was just curious, but ultimately it is none of my business.”

“All I can say is, I just don’t know.”

“Alright, where were we?”

Allura wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that.

“On the Syncline…” He clarified.

“Oh, right,” she put her palm to her forehead.

  * \- -



Lance was laying back in the lounge when Allura’s mice decided to pay him a visit.

“Oh, great, you’re here to make fun of me too?” They chittered at him.

“Will you just leave me alone?” They looked up at him, twitching their noses. “I’ve just been waiting to meet my soulmate for years, and had given up hope of ever meeting them. Now I’ve met her, and she doesn’t even like me.” He could feel his eyes start to water. “I’ve never felt this way before, Allura is smart, courageous, and she makes me want to be a better person. I don’t have a chance with her, though. I’m just a boy from Cuba, not a space prince like Lotor.” He looked down at the mice, who had fallen asleep. “Are you even listening?” They jumped up at that, standing at an adorable attempt at attention. He smiled and scooped them up. “When was the last time you were bathed?”

  * \- -



Allura leaned against the Syncline in exhaustion. She had spent a lot of energy on the ship, and it was starting to take its toll. Lotor noticed this and took her aside.

“You’ve done enough for today, princess.” He told her.

“There is still a long way to go.” She said, smiling.

“Without you none of this would have been possible.” He affirmed.

Allura fidgeted with her string.

“Allura?”

“What is it?” she asked, looking up at him.

Lotor took a deep breath.

“There is a way to sever a soul string.” He said

“What? But Coran said...”

“It’s an ancient ritual of sorts, not the sort of thing he would know about, but it does work.”

“How do you know this?”.

“Because I once had a string on my own finger.”

“Why did you cut it?” Allura was beginning to feel uneasy.

“Her species lived exceptionally short lives, she didn’t want me to experience that kind of heartbreak, so I attempted the ritual.

“Oh.” Allura looked down, unsure of what to think.

"What does this ritual require?”

“You should decide if you want to go through with it first.”

“I will need some time then.”

“Very well.” With that, he left.

Allura made her way to her quarters, still thinking on Lotor’s revelation. Her mice hopped up onto her desk. She sat down, and they scampered up her arms.

“You look cleaner than normal; did someone give you a bath?” she giggled. They mimed a near perfect impression of Lance.

“Really, are you friends now?” She interpreted their chittering as a “yes”

“When did this happen?” They spoke to her in her mind, relaying what Lance said to them as best they could.

“Oh.” She drooped a little, gazing at the string. “He said that about me.” She gave the string a light tug, silently wishing that things could be easier. A reply to her tug came shortly afterward. She smiled, not needing to hide the blush spreading across her face this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, "part 2" won't be for another 2 chapters or so,


	5. Mall (not a) date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance takes Allura to the space mall.

Progress was coming along nicely on the Syncline until they needed to build the wormhole generator. The biggest hurdle was the need for some teleduv lenses, which weren’t abundant aboard the castle. However, Coran knew about a secret black market where they could obtain some.

“Man, I can’t wait to do some shopping,” Lance remarked, “I could even pick out something for you, Princess, something sparkly.” He winked at Allura

“This isn’t some leisurely trip to the store, it’s a cutthroat market filled with the most dangerous of merchants and mercenaries.” Coran said sharply.

“But I would love something sparkly.” Allura said excitedly.

“It’s no place for a princess, besides, you should be resting.” Coran replied.

Allura pouted, and Lance caught himself staring, her lips looked so _soft_ when she made that face. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her. He shook the thought as an idea popped into his head. He began to discretely wind his string around his finger.

“Oh dear, it looks like my string has tightened.” he overacted. Allura blinked at him in confusion, but quickly caught on to his scheme.

“It appears we must stay together.” Her acting wasn’t much better than Lance’s

“Fine, Lance, Allura is YOUR responsibility if anything happens to her I will hold you personally responsible.” Coran snapped.

“Perhaps I could accompany...” Lotor offered

“No, no, I need you to…er…. Escort me! Yes, I need a bodyguard for the more dangerous areas.” Coran stammered. Lotor grudgingly agreed to the arrangement and marched off to the landing shuttle.

“It’s a date then.” Lance smiled at Allura, taking her arm.

“It is not a date” she said, taking her arm out of his.

“You’re terrible at hiding a smile.” Lance teased.

“I am not smiling.” Her face contorted into a frown, which made her look even more kissable than her pouting.

“oh no” Lance mumbled under his breath.

  * \- -



The mall itself was far from what Coran envisioned. As opposed to a dingy backwater station held together by duct tape and rebar, it looked remarkably similar to an earth mall. Coran insisted it was just a cover to make customers let their guard down. The second he was out of site, everyone ditched their “space pirate” outfits and went their separate ways.

“Thanks for covering for me.” Said Allura.

“Anytime,” Lance flashed her a grin.

“Well, if you need me, I will be in the clothing department.” He said turning away. Before he could go far, the string pulled tight. He looked back at Allura.

“What is it?” she asked a little too innocently.

“I knew you wanted to go on a date.” He chuckled.

“I do not, you promised me something sparkly.” She shot back.

“I thought that was you trying to get out of the castle.”

She dragged him closer with the string.

“Ow ow ow, ok you can stop.” He said, catching up to her. She sighed, satisfied, and sauntered off, with him still in tow.

“So, what were you thinking?” Lance asked after they had passed several shops.

“It just needs to be sparkly.” She replied absently, mainly focused on the shops.

“I think we would find better results in the jewelry department.” He offered.

“I don’t need any more jewelry.” She was clearly offended by the suggestion

“ok, ok, just thought I would ask.” He was looking around himself when a shop caught his eye. He saw what looked like a video game console in the window. An earth console.

“Allura, lets look in there,” he said tugging her over.

“Alright.” she agreed, growing tired of aimlessly wandering the mall.

Allura was in awe, she had never seen anything quite like the items in the store. Lance said something about it being an earth store and seemed just as confused as she was about its existence. He then began discussing the price of what he called a “video game console.” Probably just some dorky junk. Allura looked around the store when something caught her eye. It twinkled in the lights of the store as she got closer. It was perfect. She proudly slammed it onto the checkout counter.

“Sparkly!” she beamed. It was a simple carboard ball covered in pink glitter.

“Seriously?” Lance was confused at her excitement

“What, it’s sooo sparkly.” her eyes were wide with glee.

“How much for the console and the, uh, sparkly?” Lance asked the clerk.

“300 gak.” He said plainly. Allura was transfixed on the ball, turning it around in her hands.

“What is this?” she asked him after a while.

“Its…glitter.” Lance was still confused by her fascination with it.

“We never had glitter on Altea.” She mused.

“So that explains your obsession.” He laughed. She punched him in the arm

“I am not obsessed.”

“You haven’t taken your eyes off of it since we left the store.”

“You say that like there is something more interesting to look at.”

“There’s always me.” Lance joked.

Allura bounced the ball off his head. “Shut up, you’re cute, not pretty.”

“What?”

Realization spread across her face, followed by a severe blush.

“Nothing.” She said quickly, turning away, blocking the side of her face.

“You think I’m cute?” he was maneuvering himself so he could see her, but she was twisting herself out of his path.

“Is that dance Altean?” Pidge’s voice cut through their movements. Allura quickly straightened out, Lance stood next to her, both rigid.

“No, he,” “Er..I” They stammered out a weak response, Lance wasn’t sure who was blushing more, Allura or himself. Pidge seemed satisfied, and informed them Coran had found some teleduv lenses, but had angered the mall security. As if on cue, Coran rounded the corner, with Lotor and an entourage of security behind him. “Scram!” he shouted. Lance took Allura’s hand and pulled her along. The wove their way through the crowd of mall goers, doing their best to misdirect and trip up the guards. Lance was gleefully laughing, looking over he saw Allura was giggling right alongside him. The guards gave up pursuit as they left the mall. Lance collapsed in the shuttle, Allura plopped down next to him breathlessly. She still had a beautiful grin on her face.

“That was fun.” She decided.

“Yes, it was.” He agreed.

He looked down and saw they were still holding hands. He let go of hers.

“Sorry.” He whispered.

“Oh, um, right, ahem.” She mumbled, putting her hands in her lap.

When they returned to the castle, Allura shared an awkward good night with Lance, and turned in for the night. She put her glitter ball on her desk, which the mice took a keen interest in.

“It’s a gift from Lance.” She explained. They chittered at her, wanting to know a bit more.

“What, he’s just a friend, leave me alone.” She whined The smallest mouse twitched her nose. The others gave her a stare that said “Uh, huh, sure.” Allura groaned into her pillow.


	6. Lotor Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor sends Lance on a dangerous mission, and Allura wonders where he is.

“Lance, may I speak with you?” Lotor asked shortly after he showed up for breakfast. He sighed, Lance figured he would have to have this conversation eventually.

“Look man, that was nothing, it’s just the strings…”

“That’s not what this is about.” Lotor laughed. “Allura is _your_ soulmate anyway.” He cleared his throat.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about a covert operation, and you are the best person for the job.” He began

“Are you sure, I mean, the Blade of Marmora are probably the better choice.”

“This isn’t infiltration,” He explained “This is more of a long-range engagement, an assassination, if you will.”

“Oh.”

“The target is a feared Galran warlord, Val’kir.”

“Wouldn’t this work best if it was all of us, take Voltron, and blast them all?” Lotor shook his head. “He would most likely detect us and escape. This is a one person mission, furthermore, you can’t use your lion, it would get you caught right away.” Lance nodded. “We have a Galran fighter.” he suggested.

“Exactly.”

“I should go tell the others-“

“No, Val’ kir won’t be there for long, you go now, I will tell the others where you’ve gone.”

Lance uneasily agreed, he still didn’t like Lotor, but this opportunity was too good to pass up.

“See you when I get back” he said cheerfully.

“ _If_ you get back.” Lotor said with a laugh

“Hardy har har” Lance shook his head and left for the system where Syndak was stationed.

“Good riddance.” Lotor muttered to himself.

  * \- -



Allura awoke. She was halfway out of bed, her legs tangled in her blankets. Judging by the way the mice were glaring at her, she only recently tumbled out of bed.

“I’m sorry little friends, I was just having a dream, that’s all.” She said, scooping them up. They blinked at her, clearly wanting some details.

“It wasn’t about Lance, if that’s what you’re wondering.” She said flatly. They accepted this and scampered off. She went to the dining hall, and found Lance wasn’t there. He was always getting breakfast by the time she woke up. Confused, she tugged her sting. He tugged back, so he was up. Allura followed the string, but only came to the outer wall of the Castle. Red was still in her docking bay, so now Allura was starting to get worried. She decided to ask around. No one claimed to know where he was. Clearly something was up. She was about to go looking for him when Lotor came up to her.

“Shall we finish working on the Syncline?” he asked, seemingly unfazed by Lance’s disappearance.

“Sorry, but I’m worried about Lance.” She said, trying to push past him.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Lotor remarked, “Besides, if it was something important, he would have said something, right?”

“I guess that makes sense, but it wouldn’t hurt to go looking, just in case.” Allura managed to brush past Lotor and began to make her way towards Blue. Lotor grabbed her arm, turning around, Allura caught a brief flash of intense anger in Lotor’s eyes. It vanished a split second later. His grip loosened.

“Allura, we must continue our work, it will be a valuable asse-.”

“Shut up.” Allura snapped, yanking her arm out of his grasp. “My friend, my _soulmate_ is missing, and I am going to find him, so get out of my way.” She glared at him, a silent standoff between them. Finally, Lotor stepped down.

“Good luck then.” He said, a faint smirk on his lips. Allura turned back to Blue without a word.

“Shall we go find our boy?” she asked. Blue roared to life, eager to escape the confines of the castle. Allura turned Blue towards the string, and pulled on it, letting Lance know she was on her way, wherever he might be.

  * \- -



Lance awoke from unconsciousness, Lotor’s intel was correct, however immediately upon his arrival, he was surrounded and captured. It was almost as if the Galra knew he would be there. Someone had informed them that Lance was coming. Only one person other than himself knew about him.

“I’m going to kill him.” Lance muttered through his teeth. He took note of his surroundings. He was no longer in his paladin armor, but thankfully he still had on his regular clothes. He was clearly in a higher security cell, “chained” to the wall with electric bindings.

“Not getting out of this one alone.” He thought bitterly. The door to his cell opened, and a well- dressed Galran flanked by two guards walked in.

“Val’kir, I presume?” Lanc said in a a mocking tone

“So **this** is the famed blue paladin of Voltron?” Val’kir asked, almost to himself.

“Red paladin.” Lance corrected.

“All that matters is that I have one of you, and with one of you, I can lure the rest in.” he laughed. “I was supposed to kill you outright, but I figured if I capture you, I can lead your paladin friends and Lotor here. Then, when I kill them, the throne is mine.

Lance just stared at him. “You think you can destroy the lions of Voltron?” he burst out laughing, “They’ll destroy you before you even have the chance to say “Oh no, the paladins of Voltron.”

“You really think you friends will fire on my ships when you are on board?” Lance stopped laughing. “Now, I have a proposal for you; tell your friends to stand down and surrender their lions when they get here, and I’ll consider letting you live.”

“Then kill me now, you aren’t getting the lions.” Lance shouted defiantly.

“We shall see.” With that, Val’kir left the cell. Lance felt a tug at his string. He shop up in fear. When Allura realized he was missing, she would come looking, and if Val’kir had TWO paladins, who were soulmates, no less... He shuddered at the thought. Allura had to know not to come. He desperately pulled at the string, hoping she would get the message.

  * \- -



Allura felt her string jolt frantically. Lance was in trouble, she pushed Blue harder. She didn’t know where this sudden concern for his well- being came from. Whatever the case, Lance needed her right now. She arrived at a system with a formidable Galran fleet orbiting a nearby planet. Her string trailed off towards one near the center.

“Lance what have you gotten yourself into?” she thought. The fleet shifted, Allura had been spotted. She pushed the throttle, heading straight for the ship that had Lance on board. Weaving around the Galran lasers, she rammed Blue into the side of the ship, effectively anchoring her into the side. She jumped out into the corridor. “I’m coming Lance,” she said to the empty hallway. The ship’s alarm was blaring, and she heared the footsteps of the crew rushing towards her position. At the end of the corridor was a guard station, as she passed it, she saw Lance’s armor and bayard on the table. She crept inside and took out the guards examining it. There was no time to disguise herself, she continued to follow the string. It led her to a row of cells, the string curved around into one of them. Breathing a sigh of relief, she ran towards it, almost breaking the control panel trying to open it.

  * \- -



“Haven’t gloated enough?” Lance asked who he assumed was Val’kir, not even bothering to look up.

“Oh, Lance!” a familiar voice cried out. He was immediately surrounded by a familiar floral scent as he was fiercely embraced. She cut his bindings, then went right back to hugging him. “You’re okay!.” She squealed as he hugged her back.

“As if you had to worry, Princess.” He said nonchalantly.

“Knew someone would come for you.” A sinister voice boomed from behind them.

Allura turned around, facing what she assumed to be a Galran warlord. He was pionting a blaster at them. Allura maneuvered herself so she was completely in front of Lance. 

"Who are you?"

“I am Val’kir, soon to be _Emperor_ Val’kir.” He stated. Allura summoned her bayard in her hand behind her back. She felt Lance take it.

“Really,” she asked, trying to sound Interested. “Last I checked, Lotor was heir wo the throne.”

“I don’t think you will want him to be emperor for much longer.” He laughed.

“And why is that?” Allura demanded. Val’kir never got the chance to respond. Lance formed the bayard into a rifle, and shot him.

“Let’s get out of here” he said, handing Allura her bayard. They encountered surprisingly little resistance on the way back to Blue, one on board, Allura had no qualms about leaving the ships unharmed now that Lance was safe. They were in full retreat within a matter of minutes. Allura turned Blue and headed back towards the castle.

  * \- -



“Allura, there’s something you need to know.” Lance said, sitting next to the pilot seat.

“What is it?”

“Lotor sent me to assassinate Val’kir, but the Galra knew I was coming.”

“What?”

Lance sighed, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say.

“Val’kir claimed Lotor told him to kill me.”

“No.” Allura choked back a sob. The came up to the castle.

“It could be a ruse to turn us against each other.” Allura said uncertainly.

“I doubt it.”

They went to the bridge, which was empty except for Lotor.

“Any luck?” Lotor asked in a too- friendly way. His face drained of color when he saw Lance emerge after Allura.

“You, you’re supposed to be dead.” His voice wavered.

“And you’re supposed to be dumpster- diving for ham scraps you six-piece chicken mcnobody.” Lance retorted.

Allura was horrified, Lotor had tried to _kill_ Lance. Her horror quickly changed to rage. She tapped into the intercom. “Paladin’s I need you on the bridge, now!” She summoned her bayard and formed a spear, Lance formed his into a rifle.

“Allura, please.” Lotor begged, “I did this for US, you clearly had no feelings for Lance.”

“There never was an us.” Allura shot back. “Lance is my soulmate, the fact you could not accept that speaks volumes. I am ashamed it has taken me this long to realize my feelings for him, why my string chose him.” Allura was on the verge of tears. The other Paladins arrived. They quickly caught on to what was happening and drew their bayards. “Allura, I thought you-“ Lotor began. Lance had heard enough, he shot at Lotor, but underestimated his reflexes. Lotor dodged the blast, kicking Pidge aside. He made a break for the Syncline’s hangar.

“We can’t let him escape!” Hunk cried out. Lance took another shot, shaving part of Lotor’s hair. He lined up another shot, but the elevator’s door shut before he could take it.

“What now?” Keith asked.

“I installed a failsafe in the Syncline.” Allura said her voice still shaky. “I put it there in case the ship ever fell into the wrong hands, one blast from the castle’s main canon will destroy the ship." The Syncline came into view on screen, turning tail. Allura targeted it. 

“I’m sorry Lotor.” Allura breathed, and fired. A fireball trailed off before fizzling out.

“So that’s it? He’s gone?” Coran asked.

“Yes” Allura said, relieved, and sat down, the day’s events finally taking their toll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I changed the way Lotor died.  
> Yes I stole an insult from Space Ghost Coast to Coast.


	7. Clear Day(te)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Allura have a proper date at the Clear Day festival

“Alright paladins, this is a strictly diplomatic mission, we will walk among the locals, then give their holiday a dramatic conclusion.” Coran explained to the paladins, who were slumped over, desperately trying to stay awake through his tedious briefing about Clear Day. Seriously, it was a carnival, they should be allowed to have some fun.

“Come on, Coran.” Hunk said, “We’ve been on this diplomacy thing for months, this may be our only chance for a little rest.”

“Hunk, uniting the liberated systems is more important than getting a break.” Coran replied, “We should arrive by tomorrow, so rest up, you need to make a strong impression.” With that, the Paladins retired to their rooms.

  * \- -



Lance heard a knock at his door. He opened it to find Allura standing in front of it. He greeted her with a kiss. “Evening Princess.” He grinned. She smiled back.

“Are you busy?” she asked.

“Not really, just playing some games.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Lance gestured for her to sit down on his bed. He slid down next to her. After showing Allura how to play the game, they played for a few hours. Lance didn’t realize how much time had passed until he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. Allura had fallen asleep. He carefully set his controller down and turned the console off. He gently shook Allura. “Hey.” He whispered. She let out a soft hum and nuzzled closer, wrapping her arms around his chest. “Allura?” he said, a little louder.

“Five more minutes…so…warm.” She mumbled.

“Princess, you should get back to your quarters.” He said, trying to pry her arms away. She only hugged him closer.

“Lance, it’s too far, and it’s so cozy here.” She said, now clearly awake, bur faking tiredness.   
“As much as I would love for you to stay-“ He began

“Then let me stay, I don’t mind.” She rubbed his side.

“Ok, let me just get you some blankets,” He started to get up.

“Nooo.” she pulled him back down. “There are plenty here." Lance realized what she meant.

“Oh, right.” He laid down, carefully reclining Allura down so he was spooning her. “Comfortable?” he asked.

“Very.” She breathed before relaxing completely. Lance draped the blanket over them and it wasn’t long before he too fell asleep.

  * \- -



Lance woke up to banging on his door.

“Lance?” an irritated Coran shouted from the other side.

“What?” he said, rubbing the sleep form his eyes.

“We’re at Drazan.” Coran said.

“One minute.” Lance replied, laying back down.

“And Allura is missing.” Coran said frantically Lance looked to his left. A mess of white hair draped over his pillow.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s fine.” He said, trying not to sound conspicuous.

“Allura?” he laid his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m up.” She whispered.

“Should we get ready or do you want to wait a few minutes.”

“I think I’d prefer to be allowed to leave my quarters when I want to.” She laughed

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“M-hm.” She flicked his nose. “We can cuddle some more later.”

“Is that a promise?” he gave her a puppy eyed stare. She giggled.

“Of course, sweetie, now I need you to distract Coran while I sneak back to my room.”

“You got it Princess.” He leaned in for one more kiss before leaving.

  * \- -



Before departing for Drazan, Allura approached Lance.

“Hey, Princess.” He said, wrapping her in a hug. She sighed happily in his arms.

“I was wondering what you wanted to do at Clear Day.”

“Well, we have diplomatic stuff to do, and Coran will probably be breathing down our necks about it, so I don’t think there will be much time to do anything fun.” Lance said unhappily 

“I spoke to Coran about that, and he agreed to let us have most of the day off, relax, have fun.” She looked him in the eye. “Go on a proper date?” Lance blushed and averted her gaze.

“Uhhhh, sure!” he said, 3 pitches higher than his regular voice. He cleared his throat.

Allura giggled and kissed his cheek, deepening his blush.

  * \- -



The Clear Day celebration could only be held once a year due to the constant windstorms

that plagued the surface. The celebration was the only time of year the inhabitants of Drazan could leave their cave dwellings on the surface. The celebration was a planetwide carnival. Though different in many ways to carnivals on Earth, it still bore a strong resemblance. Allura was a little confused at first, as whenever she attended festivals on Altea, she never participated, only sat as a figurehead with her parents. Lance was patient, showing her the ropes of the games and rides. Soon enough, she was merrily hopping from one attraction to the next.

It was when she saw a Voltron- themed game that she truly understood the appeal. The grand prize was a large, plush replica of Blue.

“Lance!” she called out, dragging him over to her by the string.

“You don’t need to drag me around anymore, just call me over.” He whined.

“But its fun,” she defended, “And besides you know you like it.” She pointed at the game. “Win something for me?” she gave him her best attempt at a suggestive look.

Thankfully for Lance, it was a shooting game, which posed no significant challenge. The poor clerk running the stand just maintained unbroken mortified eye contact with Lance as he handed him the plush Blue.

“Thanks!” Lance said cheerfully, before handing it to Allura. She hugged it close and kissed Lance.

“That’s not replacing me, is it?” he teased. Allura thoughtfully tapped her chin.

“Its not very warm, or as soft as you are.” She winked at him and turned away.

“Hey, I am _not_ soft.” He trudged off after her.

The rest of the day was some of the most fun either of them had, not just as their time as Paladins. By the time they had to report back to Coran, Allura and Lance were exhausted, and carried a full set of large plush lions. Upon gathering with the other Paladins, Allura decided to give each of them their respective Lion. Keith and Shiro shared a playful tog- of- war over Black before Shiro surrendered. They then had a dramatic flyover in their lions, formed Voltron, shared a speech. Standard Voltron Coalition fare.

Allura collapsed into her bed back on the Castle, the plush Blue next to her. Before she could relax there was a knock at the door.

“Go away.” She whined into her pillow. “Tired.”

“You promised me cuddles.” It was Lance

“Come on in!” she sat bolt upright and opened her arms, her blanket draped over her like a cape. 

“Have I ever told you how adorable you are when you’re sleepy.” Lance said, leaning against the door frame.

Allura pouted at him. “I’m cold.”

“You’re just saying that so I’ll hold you sooner.” he said mischievously.

“ _You_ came to _me_ to cuddle.” Allura retorted, crossing her arms in front of her.

“I’m just making you work for it.”

Allura threw a pillow, hitting him square in the face.

“Ok, I yield.” He crawled into bed in front of her. Allura wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.

“Goodnight Allura.” He whispered and kissed the top of her head. Her eyes opened and she pushed herself off.

“Ok, cuddle time’s over!” she grinned at him.

“Wait, what?” Lance complained.

“I never said we would be sleeping together.” Her grin widened

“We did last night.”

“Then count your blessings.”

“Is it always going to be this way with you?”

“Not always.” She bat her eyelashes at him.

Lance swept her into a kiss and held her tightly.

“Not buying yourself anymore time tonight.” She said, giggling.

“Fine.” Lance made a show of drooping his face into a put and dragging himself out the door.”

“You look so adorable when you pout.” She called out

“Cute enough to cuddle?” he stuck his head back in excitedly.

“Not tonight.” She trew another pillow at him, which he managed to dodge.

Lance then made his way back to his quarters, completely spent.


	8. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance practices his fighting, and gets an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like most fan rewrites of this scene, it is a bit closer to the M rating, do wat you will with this information.

Lance was still anxious, he hadn’t been able to get much sleep, and had taken to walking around the castle aimlessly. He eventually came to the training deck and decided he would try to tire himself out. Lance set up a basic shooting gallery. Each target fell after the other, not a single misfire. **So why couldn’t I hit Lotor?** He scolded himself. Another set of targets rose and fell. He started another but was too angry with himself to properly focus on this one. Soon the targets had him surrounded, his shield was failing. Lance cried out in anger, the bayard taking a new form. It was a sword unlike any Lance had seen before. It felt strange to fight with, but he destroyed the drones nonetheless. He turned the sword around, getting a better look at it.

“I haven’t seen that for 10,00 years.” A voice said from behind him. It was Allura. “It’s an Altean broadsword, my father used one just like it.”

“Can’t sleep either?” Lance asked, still not feeling tired.

“Well I _was_ having a light sleep before _someone_ yanked me out of bed. Literally.”

“Oh,” Lance said, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s alright, besides, I could use some training.” Allura said, forming her own bayard into a spear. Lance got the idea and adopted what he hoped was a defensive stance. Allura lunged right through it, poking him in the ribs.

“Ow.” He mumbled.

“You really need to work on your stance.” She said, smirking at him.

“Alright, again.” He replied, assuming a different stance. Allura yanked on his string, pulling him down, and pointed her spear at his cheat.

“That’s cheating.” He complained.

“I couldn’t help myself.” She said. Laughing.

“Really? Then I can’t help **this** ” he stated, pulling her down.

“You just said that was cheating.” She whined, landing on his chest. Lance quickly flipped himself over and pinned Allura to the ground.

“At least take me too dinner first.” She giggled. Lance’s face turned bright red and he relaxed his grip. Allura took the opportunity and tackled Lance, effectively reversing their positions.

“Oh, it is _on.”_ He laughed. They wrestled with each other for a few minutes until Allura had Lance pinned under her again.

“Now who should be taking who to dinner?” he asked, mimicking her previous tone.

“Not going to distract me with that line, Sharpshooter.” She teased.

“What about this.” Lance said, leaning in to kiss her.

“About wh-.” She was cut off when their lips connected. Allura tensed for a fraction of a second before melting into Lance’s arms, deepening the kiss. She moved her hands to his cheeks, cupping his face while he brushed his through her hair. Their lips parted and Allura sighed happily, laying down on his chest.

“I love you, Allura.” Lance whispered into her ear.

“Me too.” She whispered back.

“What, you love you, or-.

“Shhh” Allura pressed her finger to his lips. His eyes widened as she leaned in to kiss him. He met her halfway. As they continued to make out, Lance flipped her over again, kissing her harder.

“Lance…” Allura warned, breaking away.

“Sorry.” He said, leaning back.

“I meant this is a little too public., if you catch my drift.” She said, biting her lip. He gulped.

She sat up and extended her hand. “Come on.” She said. Lance pushed her hand aside and swept her off her feet and held her bridal style and cut her squeal off with another kiss. He carried her off to her room, depositing her on her bed.

“Good night Lance.” She said, tucking herself in. She giggled at his expression. “What, we’ve only _just now_ become a thing.”

“So why did you lead me here?” he asked, more amused than annoyed.

“You carried me.”

“You got all flirty and offered your hand after saying we were too public.”

“I didn’t want anyone to catch us making out.” She defended, still stifling laughter.

“You just wanted a free ride to bed, didn’t you?”

“It worked didn’t it?” Lance gave her a disappointed look “A lying princess tch tch tch. Whatever are we going to do with you?” he leaned in to kiss her, but she blocked him with her hand. “You’ve had more than enough smooches for one night, loverboy.” She teased.

“Alright, alright, Goodnight Princess.” He said, leaving her room. Lance didn’t realize how tired he had become until he laid down in his bed, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

  * \- -



Allura greeted Lance when he exited his room the next morning.

“Oh, hi.” He said, surprised by her visit.

“I was wondering when you wanted to tell everyone we are dating.” She said, looking down to hide her blush.

Lance held up his string hand. “I think it’s been blatantly obvious from the start this would happen.”

“La-ance.”

“Well should we be dramatic about it?” Lance asked

“What do you mean by that?” Lance gave a devilish smile and rubbed his hands together.

  * \- -



Allura walked into the dining hall yawning. “Good morning paladins.” She said, faking a sleepy voice.

“Is that Lance’s jacket?” Pidge asked

“Hmm?” Allura made a show of looking down. “Yes, why?”

“He’s just a bit protective of his clothing, I’m just wondering why you have it.” Lance walked in at that moment.

“Morning, babe.” He said like it was nothing. He waled over to Allura and kissed her.

He looked over at the other paladins, only instead of exchanged bets and surprise, he saw them ignoring him.

“Hey, come on guys, work with me here.” He whined.

“You say that loke you want us to be surprised.” Shiro said, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, dude,” Hunk said with a mouthful of food, “You are literally her soulmate, for course you would end up together.”

“You said it would be this big moment.” Allura frowned at Lance. He rubbed the back of his head. “Apparently not?”


	9. The End is the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rewrite of that abysmal ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter here due to some writer's block when trying to make it a bit longer. I have the next chapter more or less planned out (an epilogue of sorts) so there won't be as much of a delay as there was on this one.

“I’m afraid this is where we part ways.” Allura said sadly.

“What?” the other paladins asked in relative unison.

“I need to help Honerva heal the multiverse.” Tears were welling in her eyes.

“But why?” Lance asked, voice cracking After just 2 months of finally dating, and a year of close friendship, she was leaving him. Forever. She stepped forward and embraced him, they both broke down, crying into each other’s shoulders.

“Lance. I’m so sorry.” She said in between sobs. “I wish there was another way.”

They exchanged one final kiss before Allura slipped out of Lance’s arms. She started towards Honerva when her string pulled tight. She turned around, tears starting to stream down her face again.

“Lance, please, don’t do this to me.” However, his hand wasn’t pulling it back, in fact, it was fully outstretched. They stared at each other in confusion.

“It would seem fate has other plans.” Honerva said behind them. Allura turned to face her. She smiled at Allura. “Child, this is not your destiny, this is _my_ duty"

“But, what if there isn’t enough quintessence to restore the realities?” Allura replied.

“If there isn’t, you wouldn’t make much difference anyway.” Said Honerva.

“What do you mean?” Allura was still confused.

“Why are you even questioning this?” Lance stepped forward and took her hand.

“Your friend has a point.” Honerva said with an amused expression on her face.

“But why, to me, this feels like the right thing to do.” Allura said, beginning to doubt herself.

Honerva rubbed her eyes, starting to get annoyed at the delay.

“Put simply, I have far more quintessence than you do, and we don’t exactly have the resources to get you any. Furthermore, it would just be cruel to separate soulmates.” Honerva said, gesturing to Allura’s string. She pulled it protectively to her chest. Lance pulled her back into a hug, which she started to reject.

“Please don’t go, especially since you don’t need to.” Lance whimpered in her ear. Any lingering desire to go with Honerva left her, and she turned around in Lance’s arms, returning the embrace. They started to weep once more, not out of sadness this time, but out of joy. The other paladins surrounded them and turned it into a group hug.

Knowing her work was done, Honerva walked into the void and restored the damage she wrought.

Lance woke up in Red. They were exactly where they were the moment before they followed Honerva. “Allura?” he asked, still fearing the worst.

“I’m here.” She replied joyfully.


	10. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance Introduces Allura to his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight au where Earth wasn't attacked by the Galra and this is their first time returning.

Lance felt shuffling against his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw Allura squirming in her sleep. Not long after their battle with Honerva, Allura started sleeping in Lance’s room. It was a little awkward at first, but they quickly grew accustomed to sharing what was supposed to be a one person bed. He gently rubbed her shoulder and she turned to face him, revealing she wasn’t asleep at all..

“What’s on your mind?” he asked softly.

She smiled at him. “Nothing, I’m just nervous.”

“About what?”

“I’m meeting your family tomorrow, what if they don’t like me?”

“Allura, there is nothing to be worried about, I’m sure they will love you.” He cupped her cheek and leaned in for a kiss. She accepted it and turned over for him to hold her.

  * \- -



Upon their arrival to Earth, the castle was greeted with a small fleet of ships. Once the ships learned what the castle was, they quickly lowered their defenses and let the castle land on a platform built specifically for their arrival. The Paladin’s families were waiting for them at the garrison. Lance rushed forward to his family, who, in turn, came to meet him. His mother reached him first.

“Lance.” She cried, holding him close to her, not unlike she had when he was little.

“Mom.” He hugged her back. When she let him go, his little cousins jumped on him.

“Uncle Lance!” they squealed, one hugging each leg.

“You’re so big now!.” He exclaimed, picking them both up. Each of his relatives came to greet him. Most of them couldn’t hold back their tears. ”Uncle Lance, why is your string so long.” One of his cousins asked, pointing at his hand. He set her down.

“Everyone?” he got his families attention. He cleared his throat. “When I was away, I met my soulmate!” He pulled on his starting, urging Allura to come forward.

“Her name is Allura and she's a magic space princess.” He dramatically waved his hands toward her in an effort to present her. She smiled at Lance’s family and gave a small wave.

“Hello!”

Lance’s younger cousins just gawked at her while the rest gave themselves a moment to take her in. His mother made the first move. She took Allura’s hand and pulled her towards the group.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She said, admiring the string that wrapped around her legs, back towards Lance. The rest of his family each took a turn greeting her personally. Most just shared a handshake, but some hugged her. One of his brothers even gave her a bear hug, but it quickly ended when Lance gave him a death glare from the sidelines.

“Are you really a princess?” one of Lance’s younger cousins stammered out. Allura squatted down so they were face to face.

“Yes I am.” She said, ruffling her hair.

“Speaking of which,” Lance said, adopting a smug, holier than thou expression. “You are now to refer to me as “Prince Lance or Your Highness.” His older sister, Veronica rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. “As if.” The rest of the family laughed at this.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” Lance’s mom suggested.

“That sounds wonderful.” Allura replied, stepping next to Lance. His family cheered and led the way to a transport that would take them home.

  * \- -



Lance’s home wasn’t very big, or maybe it only felt that way due to how large his family was. This only made it feel more warm and cozy. Allura was welcomed in and seated next to Lance at their table. A large meal had already been prepared. Allura had never tasted anything from Earth, as soon as she had one bite of it, she couldn’t get enough.

“Allura, slow down, you'll choke!” Lance’s mother laughed.

“But it’s _so_ good.” She replied, still chewing.

The rest of the evening was spent sharing embarrassing stories about Lance’s childhood.

He sat cross armed with an angry expression throughout the whole ordeal.

“Cheer up sweetheart, I’m sure they don’t mean any harm.” Allura said, cupping his chin, and kissing his forehead.

“Ugh, get a room you two.” Veronica said, contorting her face into a grimace.

“Jealous I found my soulmate first?” Lance teased.

“No, you two are so in love and it’s disgusting.”

Lance grinned mischievously and kissed Allura’s lips, pulling her close to himself.

“Gya! I’m out of here.” Veronica moaned and quickly left the room. The rest of the family was in stitches.

“Have they always been that way?” Allura asked.

“Basically.” His father said, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Why don’t we go for a walk, there’s this really nice place I would like to show you.” Lance said, taking Allura’s hand.

“I would love to.” She allowed herself to be led out of the house.

  * \- -



The city park was one of Lance’s favorite places to visit. The fact he was now walking through it with his soulmate made it even better. _Soulmate._ Lance still had a hard time believing that he finally found her. He felt like the luckiest man alive.

The path ended at a tree where it looped around back the way it came. Lance felt a small tug at his finger. Allura motioned for him to sit next to her on a nearby bench. She rested her head on his shoulder, he saw that her face was downcast.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, wrapping is arm around her waist.

“I just feel so alone right now.” She said softly

“What?”

“It’s just we’ve come to Earth, and everyone has a family to go home to. Everyone except me, and for the first time I feel uncertain about what the future holds. It’s silly, I used to think the team relied on me for strength, but now I see it was I who needed you. _You_ are my strength.” Her eyes were glassy.

“Allura, you are not alone, you have me, you have Coran, the the others. We are your family. _I_ am your family.”: He gently took her hand and rubbed her sting. “This proves it.” he kissed her right at the loop the string formed on her finger. “I don’t care that we are so young, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Lance.” Allura’s voice cracked. he kissed her, more passionately than he had ever done previously.

“Allura, will you marry me?” The question just popped out of his mouth. He hadn’t even thought about it. Realization of what he just said dawned on him. He covered his mouth. Allura looked just as shocked.

“I’m sorry.” He stammered “It was just- I mean- “ Allura silenced him with a tentative finger on his lips.

“Yes.” She pulled him in for another kiss.

“Now where’s my ring.” she demanded upon separating.

“Didn’t you say you had enough jewelry?”

Allura punched him in the arm. “I don’t have an engagement ring, there is more than enough space in my collection for one of those.”

“Alright, I’ll find something.”

“Why don’t we go home now, I’m getting cold..” Allura rubbed her arms for effect.

“Sure thing, Princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so ends this mess of a fanfiction. I'm not entirely happy with a few things here and there, but ultimately I did learn some things which will hopefully show in future fics I may or may not write.


End file.
